The residential property market in Spain is set to bottom out next year and see a 2% rise in prices in 2016, according to ratings agency Standard & Poor’s. It is well documented that the fall in prices has been slowing in recent months and the agency is predicting that prices will fall overall by 2% this year compared with 4.6% in 2013. Property prices in Spain have fallen around 30% since the economic downturn hit the country’s real estate markets in 2008. S&P says that the positive outlook for the property market is down to a faster than expected recovery of the Spanish economy and a subsequent quicker fall in unemployment. According to the Spanish Central Bank the country’s economy grew by 0.5% in the second quarter of 2014, the fastest rate in six years, and the latest job figures show that 192,000 people had joined the country’s workforce in the 12 months to the end of June. Experts say there has been a change in trends in the Spanish property market in the last 12 months with the arrival of British and US property funds who are taking advantage of the offers in the Spanish property market. But the market is unlikely to recover everywhere at the same pace. It is predicted that properties on the coast, including areas popular with second home owners, will see prices rise first. However, according to S&P the long term recovery of the property market could be kept on a leash by the high number of properties on the market in Spain and the country’s population decline could also put a brake on the long awaited recovery. S&P said in January that Spain’s housing market was overvalued by somewhere in the region of 12% to 20%. According to Mark Stucklin of Spanish Property Insight, Standard & Poor’s is a bit more pessimistic than other agencies, who believe a recovery may begin as early as 2015. Several reports in recent weeks have spotlighted the slowdown in the price declines, prompting different analysts to predict the bottom of the market may be nearer.LINK TO BESPOKE SPANISH VILLAS ON THE COSTA BLANCA - VILLAS

Harlequin Hotels, the company that owns Buccament Bay Resort in St Vincent has won a fraudulent misappropriation case against a former contractor at the resort.

Harlequin Hotels and Resorts said in a release last week that it had won the case against Padraig “Paudie” O’Halloran.The High Court in Ireland heard that the contractor fraudulently misappropriated more than US$13 million from US$50 million sent to his firm for the resort’s construction.“During the 31-day trial, Harlequin provided evidence and witness testimonies detailing how O’Halloran fraudulently misappropriated in excess of US$13m from US$50m that was sent to the ICE Group for the resort’s construction. Of the $13m that was diverted, more than $2m was sent to Ireland to pay for items including a lavish wedding. The Court also heard that sums were used to fund luxury purchases, such as a US$1.5m private jet, a racecourse in St Lucia, a car franchise business and renovations to a rented property on the Sandy Lane estate,” Harlequin said in a release.Harlequin also stated that while the funds were being misappropriated, very little of the promised construction work was actually carried out at Buccament Bay Resort, resulting in the resort opening later than originally planned and on a smaller scale.

Follow the link to visit the now open amazing 5* Buccament Bay resort - LINK

Pat Cash, John Barnes, Teddy Sheringham and Lewis Moody are just some of the legends from a range of sports who will be providing master class coaching to guests for the second half of 2013 at the luxury, all-inclusive Buccament Bay Resort in St Vincent & The Grenadines. It's been an amazing first six months of 2013 for sports fans at the award-winning Caribbean hotel, with big names like Liverpool FC legend David Fairclough, Grand Slam tennis star Lee Childs, ex-England cricketer Ronnie Irani, and Wales’ rugby team coach Rob Howley already delighting guests; however, the next six months promise to be even better, so scroll down for a full list of the sporting legends who will be visiting Buccament Bay between July and December 2013!Liverpool FC International Football Academy Soccer School

Valentine's Day is approaching and it's that time of year to reflect on what brought you together and sharing those precious moments with each other.A holiday at the 5 star Buccament Bay Resort is all about celebrations. This Valentine's Day, make sure you get to take some time out of your busy schedule and enjoy some luxury treatment.Activities that will keep you both going... Improve your tennis skills with the resident tennis coach or experience a romantic sunset cruise with cocktails and canapes; lie back and enjoy a fantastic treatment in the ESPA Spa, be wined and dined at one of the four great restaurants; most of all, find time to enjoy each other. There are two romantic packages for Valentine's Day at Buccament Bay Resort...

Dinner in Jack's - Enjoy a 4 course fine dining experience in the exclusive restaurant, with a glass of Louis Roederer champagne each

Exclusive Beachfront Dining Experience - Enjoy an exclusive menu on the beach, complete with a bottle of Louis Roederer Champagne and your own private waiter

If after visiting the resort you invest in one of the units then your holiday cost will be refunded (maximum £3000).Further information - LINK

St Vincent & The Grenadines 2012 Tourism Award for Outstanding Service in the Tourism/Hospitality Industry!

Kay Wilson, who runs Indigo Dive at Buccament Bay Resort, has been honoured with the St Vincent & The Grenadines 2012 Tourism Award for Outstanding Service in the Tourism/Hospitality Industry!This fantastic achievement comes a year after Indigo Dive was awarded PADI 5 Star status for its excellent standards of dive tuition, and in the same month that Kay, along with the Buccament Bay Resort team, hosted a very successful Kids Sea Camp by Family Dive Adventures for a special thanks giving event that saw dozens of children attend.To book a holiday on Buccament Bay or to invest in one of the resort units follow the link - BUCCAMENT BAY RESORT

In the UK property market over the last 12 month Student accommodation has been the best-performing asset with average double-digit returns these have been driven by strong rental growth.Over the last 10 years the student housing sector has grown to a market worth in the region of £103bn. This growth has been driven by a rise in the number of students enrolling on university courses, up from 100m in 2000 to over 150m last year.According to the property index student housing funds have returned close to 12% since the start of the year this compares with an average return of only 1.3% across the rest of the property market and an average 6% for other investments. Over the last year a number of large investment funds have bought into the sector as they believe that the sector is not greatly affected by the present economic downturn and lenders are also turning to student accommodation as one of a handful of property types which they view as low risk: vacancy rates run at about 5%, less than one-third of the figure elsewhere in the property sector.To invest or find out more about the student investment sector please follow the link - STUDENT INVESTMENT

The Water Front Village at Buccament Bay Resort in St Vincent & The Grenadines.Buccament Bay Resort is extremely proud to receive even more honours to add to the collection; this time, the luxury, all-inclusive resort in St Vincent & The Grenadines has been voted in the top ten best hotels in the world in THREE categories, courtesy of Travel Weekly.

The polls, voted for by travel industry professionals, ranked Harlequin Hotels & Resort’s flagship Caribbean resort in the top 3 for Best New Hotel, as well as top ten places in Best Family Hotel and Best All-Inclusive Hotel.This comes after Buccament Bay Resort won two World Travel Awards for Caribbean’s Leading New Hotel and St Vincent & The Grenadines’ Leading Spa Resort.Such fantastic industry recognition for Buccament Bay Resort and Harlequin Hotels & Resorts is testament to the great work of the resort team, the strides that the resort has taken since opening.To book a holiday on Buccament Bay or to invest in one of the units please follow the link - LINK

An imposed workplace scheme is not the only option for retirement, as more low-cost Sipps come on to the market.The financial pages have been full of advice on pensions with the launch of auto-enrollment last week. It has thrown a desperately needed spotlight on how and why we should be saving for later life. But not everyone is happy that the state is stepping in. If you want to take control for your own retirement saving, a self-invested personal pension or Sipp, could prove a compelling alternative. Sipps are essentially do-it-yourself pensions, offer more flexibility and a wider range of investment choices than most personal pensions. As well as cash, government bonds and funds, you can choose to invest your money in more complicated investments such as individual shares, open-ended investment companies (Oeics), commercial property and commodities. They still benefit from all the features of a more traditional pension, including up to 50 per cent tax relief on pension contributions, but instead of trusting the provider to pick funds, you decide how to invest your contributions typically with a much wider range of funds to choose from and the opportunity to invest in direct equities by buying and selling shares. It's true that when they first emerged, Sipps were targeted at experienced investors with substantial pension pots, but as costs have come down they have proven to be an increasingly popular choice among the general population. "The Sipp market has been revolutionised in recent years with the emergence of low-cost plans, which have made them accessible to the mass market. Sipps are now becoming ISA-like in their appeal," says Jason Hollands of independent financial adviser (IFA) Bestinvest.

Buccament Bay Resort wins “Caribbean’s Leading New Hotel” and “St Vincent & The Grenadines’ Leading Spa Resort” 2012The WTA awards programme, hailed as “the Oscars of the travel industry” by the global media, highlights and rewards those travel brands that have made the greatest contribution to the industry over the past year.In winning “Caribbean’s Leading New Hotel” for 2012, Buccament Bay Resort beat the likes of Hotel Riu Palace Bavaro (Dominican Republic) and The Hotel Chocolat (St Lucia), whilst the St Vincent & The Grenadines “Leading Spa Resort” honour was awarded over competitors like Palm Island Resort, Petit St Vincent Resort and Young Island Resort.About the World Travel Awards WTA was launched in 1993 to acknowledge and recognise excellence in the global travel and tourism industry. Now celebrating its 19th anniversary, it is regarded as the very highest achievement that a travel product could hope to receive.A packed delegation of VIPs, senior tourism figures and international media traveled from more than 30 nations to attend WTA’s Caribbean & The Americas Ceremony 2012, which was supported by Turks & Caicos Tourist Board and Scotiabank.